In order to challenge
Rudolf Mosse's monopoly of the German advertisement market, the GmbH altered its strategy to include an investment principle based on a cooperation model; this enabled the formation of a joint venture society consisting of shareholders investing no more than 500 Marks each. This concept, coined by Leo Wegener as the 'Cooperative of Advertisers', sought to attract numerous shareholders. In 1916, the archive department of
Ala Advertisements GmbH was founded to collect information related to advertisement placement in domestic and foreign newspapers. It cooperated with the
German Overseas Service Syndicate, leading to the establishment of
Deutsche Archiv GmbH on May 23, 1917. To protect the naming rights,
Auslands Anzeige GmbH was founded on September 5, 1917, taking over operations from
Ala Anzeige GmbH.
Auslands Anzeige GmbH was eventually dissolved in 1927. Meanwhile, the Ala's activities expanded to include economics consulting as well as offering assistance in the design of advertisements and the creation of sales opportunities. In 1917, Ala GmbH underwent a major transformation when it purchased the majority of shares in
Haasestein & Vogler AG from its shareholder Charles Georg. The acquisition included control of ''Haasestein & Vogler AG's
extensive advertising network and their subsidiary; Daube & Co
. On December 16, 1919, a new company based on this acquisition was formed and named Ala United Advertising Companies, Haasenstein & Vogler AG, Daube & Co. mbH
. Two years later, this company was taken over by Ala Advertisements AG''. The rapid growth of Ala GmbH raised concerns that advertising brokerage could be employed to exert influence over the press. The
Düsseldorfer Volkszeitung, connected to the Social Democrats, published an editorial on November 22, 1915, expressing alarm over the potential of Ala GmbH to compromise the interests of the underprivileged. In response, Mosse's company initiated a public awareness campaign in 1916 to champion the organisation in a campaign entitled
Die Unabhängigkeit der Presse ist bedroht! ('The Independence of the Press is Threatened!'), which culminated in February 1918 with a published article by Professor Walter Goetz in the
Leipziger Tageblatt,
Die Vaterlandspartei ('The Fatherland Party'). The article by Goetz attacked Ala GmbH for its close ties with industrial conglomerates. In February 1918,
Matthias Erzberger took up the issue of monopolization of German advertising businesses in his Reichstag speech. He attacked heavy industry,
den Alldeutschen Verband (the Pan-German Association) and the
Deutsche Vaterlandspartei (German Fatherland Party) for their involvement in the Ala GmbH. In response, the management of Ala GmbH authorised and distributed an official statement, entitled
Die Ala und ihre Gegner (The Ala and its opponents). The statement refuted the notion that it was monopolising the advertising business and instead suggested that this accusation was more appropriately aimed at Mosse's business. The public debate around this matter unfolded in the
Deutsche Tageszeitung and the
Berliner Tageblatt and was even addressed in
England, as exemplified in
The Times' March 1918 article about the Krupp press. In 1922, the
Wirtschaftsstelle der Provinzpresse GmbH (Wipro) was established in Berlin to provide services to small newspaper publishers in the midst of high inflation. These services included a cost-efficient Maternkorrespondenz (referring to the delivery of news material from big cities to district and local newspapers), which enabled local publishers to obtain material for an entire newspaper, leaving only the design of a local news section. The subsidiary company, Ala, acquired advertisement orders from Wipro at prices that were up to 50 percent lower than its competitors; this was widely criticised by the Weltbühne publication
"Hugenberg versucht, durch seine Annoncenexpedition Ala-Haasenstein & Vogler-Daube den redaktionellen Teil zu kaufen.“ ("Hugenberg tried to buy the editorial part through his advertising expedition Ala-Haasenstein & Vogler-Daube.") in 1926.
Arno Meyer's doctoral thesis, accepted by LMU Munich in 1926, addressed the implications of this practice. He noted that these financial arrangements enabled less efficient newspapers to reduce costs and feature advertising sections that were larger, more varied, and more attractive. Nevertheless, Meyer cautioned that media outlets using this association risked becoming increasingly dependent on the relevant business entities. Moreover, Emil Dovifat and
Otto Groth voiced similar criticism of Hugenberg. ==See also==